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Knights Templar Blue Madonna


TWRDO

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Here's my review of Knights Templar Blue Madonna. It's actually my first ink review ever, so it might be lacking in some areas, but hopefully it gives a good idea of what the ink is really like.

 

The review was written on paper from a cheap Mead 5 Star notebook. I'd use something nicer, but 1) it's what I have, and 2) I take tons of notes in class, so if an ink doesn't perform at least reasonably well on cheap paper then I won't use it. I've also included some writing samples on a Rhodia pad as well to give an idea of the ink's performance on a (much) nicer paper, as well as a comparison between a couple of other inks.

 

Because of scanner/monitor/eyeball differences, your mileage will surely vary as far as the color accuracy of these scans goes. I've done some rudimentary calibration on my own monitor and the scans appeared reasonably close to the real thing on my end. Only some slight brightness correction was applied after scanning.

 

Click the images to enlarge: (file sizes are on the large size in case you're on a slow connection)

http://thumb.phyrefile.com/h/ha/hablochileno/2010/11/10/300/KnightsTemplarBlueMadonna1.jpg

 

http://thumb.phyrefile.com/h/ha/hablochileno/2010/11/10/300/KnightsTemplarBlueMadonna2.jpg

 

Rhodia samples:

http://thumb.phyrefile.com/h/ha/hablochileno/2010/11/10/300/KnightsTemplarBlueMadonna3.jpg

 

 

I did do a quick water resistance test on a different sheet of paper. Blue Madonna isn't waterproof, but it should survive most minor desktop disasters. After ~30 seconds under warm running tap water there was some bleeding, but the text was easily readable.

 

Overall, I was quite happy with Blue Madonna. Lord Croft has created a beautiful and nicely performing ink. Thanks again for the sample!

 

If you've got questions about something I didn't include (or just need help deciphering my chicken scratch) feel free to ask, and I'll do my best to answer them.

Music, verily, is the mediator between intellectual and sensuous life, the one incorporeal entrance into the high world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend. -Ludwig van Beethoven

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Thank you for the review. Knights Templar are only offering the ink in 10ml bottles at around $8. Do you think it justifies the price in comparison to similar colors from other manufactures offering 3 times more volume and so much cheaper?

 

Regards,

 

Pickwick

They came as a boon, and a blessing to men,
The Pickwick, the Owl and the Waverley pen

Sincerely yours,

Pickwick

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Thank you for the review. Knights Templar are only offering the ink in 10ml bottles at around $8. Do you think it justifies the price in comparison to similar colors from other manufactures offering 3 times more volume and so much cheaper?

 

Regards,

 

Pickwick

 

That's the tough question isn't it? It's kind of like asking if I'm justified in buying a $200 Pelikan when my $45 TWSBI works just as well. The same question gets asked all the time about the Iroshizuku inks, which are almost as expensive per quantity, at least at MSRP. Some people say they're worth it, but others say they're just another ink. There are definitely very good less expensive inks out there. For example, the Edelstein Topaz is quite similar in color and can be had for $20 for 50mL. But, personally, I prefer the color of Blue Madonna over the Topaz by just a bit, and the flow and lubrication fit my personal taste almost perfectly. For me that does make it worth paying a bit more. Someone else isn't going to like it as much, and it wouldn't be worth as much to them. Mathematically, a 50mL bottle of Blue Madonna would be ~$40. Would I pay that much for a bottle of ink? I don't know that I would, but somehow it's not as hard to swallow $10 at a time. I'll likely keep a bottle around to use as an occasional ink "treat."

Music, verily, is the mediator between intellectual and sensuous life, the one incorporeal entrance into the high world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend. -Ludwig van Beethoven

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Do you have a picture of the bottle?

 

Sorry, I only have a small sample bottle. I would assume it looks something like the one pictured on their website: http://knightstemplarink.com/01inks1BMa.html

Music, verily, is the mediator between intellectual and sensuous life, the one incorporeal entrance into the high world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend. -Ludwig van Beethoven

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Lord Croft is great person to communicate with, and wants people to be extremely happy with his ink. No aff., just someone that has had a very pleasant experience w/ this individual!!

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I find his ink sizing choice to be very interesting, particularly the three bottle maximum. It makes me wonder if there are capacity issues (he is a hobbyist ink maker, I'd guess from just having one product), ingredient availability issues, or perhaps both. I'd love to see the ink maker come here to participate in our forums so we could acquaint ourselves with him and he with us.

 

For me, this color isn't one I care about enough to buy an additional color. It looks close enough to Noodler's VMail Midway Blue and Pelikan Edelstein Topaz for my purposes. As with all things, I'm happy those who are looking for more options in this range have this choice.

Edited by Jimmy James

<a href="Http://inkynibbles.com">Inky NIBbles, the ravings of a pen and ink addict.</a>

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As a small addition, Blue Madonna didn't stain my TWSBI at all. If anything, after flushing, the pen came out cleaner than before I put the ink in. It was also quite easy/quick to flush out the pen, especially considering how saturated an ink it seems to be.

Music, verily, is the mediator between intellectual and sensuous life, the one incorporeal entrance into the high world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend. -Ludwig van Beethoven

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I find his ink sizing choice to be very interesting, particularly the three bottle maximum. It makes me wonder if there are capacity issues (he is a hobbyist ink maker, I'd guess from just having one product), ingredient availability issues, or perhaps both. I'd love to see the ink maker come here to participate in our forums so we could acquaint ourselves with him and he with us.

 

For me, this color isn't one I care about enough to buy an additional color. It looks close enough to Noodler's VMail Midway Blue and Pelikan Edelstein Topaz for my purposes. As with all things, I'm happy those who are looking for more options in this range have this choice.

 

He did post a few times on this thread.

 

I agree with you on the color. It's very close to Topaz and Midway, Midway looks just a hint greener. But Blue Madonna is more water resistant than either. Some of the blue washes off when rinsed in water, but most stays on the paper.

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Well, TWRDO,

 

glad to see your opinion of Blue Madonna so closely parallels mine. And always glad to welcome a new ink manufacturer to the Fountain Pen Network.

 

Enjoy,

Yours,
Randal

From a person's actions, we may infer attitudes, beliefs, --- and values. We do not know these characteristics outright. The human dichotomies of trust and distrust, honor and duplicity, love and hate --- all depend on internal states we cannot directly experience. Isn't this what adds zest to our life?

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I have to chime in on this one. I've also used this ink and have a few things to say about it:

 

What I liked:

 

1) It's very free flowing. This aspect can't be denied, and I do like wet inks. Excellent. :clap1:

 

2) It's a very fast drying ink. I like that too. :clap1:

 

3) I liked the amount of lubrication - it worked well in my Al-Star medium on Rhodia grid ruled paper. :clap1:

 

4) It has excellent water resistance and yet can be washed out of your clothes. Excellent. :clap1:

 

 

 

What I didn't like:

 

1) It bleeds trough rather much on Rhodia paper. :(

 

2) It feathers rather conspicuously on Rhodia paper. It also shows on the original poster's samples. :(

 

3) It costs a lot! :(

 

 

I had high hopes for this ink. Sadly, it falls off my list of go-to inks because of the main weaknesses. Given the bleedthrough, the feathering and the cost, I don't see how I can continue using this ink. I could put up with a bit of feather if it didn't bleed or vice versa. But the cost is the kicker - I'll be through this bottle in a couple of weeks. That's hard to swallow - oh wait, it's digestible?

 

By the way - Lord Croft is a nice guy. I'm glad we're getting to know him.

 

S

Edited by stevo
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Interesting. I found it very well behaved on Rhodia. Any feathering you see in my Rhodia sample is a scanning/screen artifact. The original doesn't show any at all. I think I could see it happening in a fairly wet pen, though. My TWSBI runs on the dry side, and my Pelikano Jr. is somewhere in the middle, and on closer inspection of my original, I'd say the Pelikano is probably close to the limit of not getting bleedthrough, though there's still no feathering.

 

There's obviously a bit of feathering and some bleedthrough with the paper I used for the bulk of the review, but then again, it's Mead 5 Star. I've only used 1 or 2 inks that don't feather noticeably on that.

Edited by TWRDO

Music, verily, is the mediator between intellectual and sensuous life, the one incorporeal entrance into the high world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend. -Ludwig van Beethoven

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Thank you, Steveo and TWRDO, for your reviews (and personal kindness).

 

This all started as a project to accommodate only myself and my strict requirements and writing style. while developing the ink, I used my own pens, utilizing fine and extra fine nibs. I did not experiment with medium and broad nibs - I do not own any - and I was not concerned about the outcome in a situation with that much ink flowing. As a result, I achieved a very good balance of varying characteristics, but only for thin lines. I noticed later, when doing evaluations with broader points, that the standard broad was much too wet for my tastes and that the ink behaved very differently than what I was accustomed to (feathering and bleedthrough). Even the medium point was a bit of a surprise for me. I made a note on my website when I put this all out for public consumption:

 

"Notice that as more ink was applied, as with the broad flex nib, the ink displayed generally less desirable results (depending upon, of course, what your individual desires are), with noticeable bleed-through, smearing, and feathering. As a result, Blue Madonna seems to perform best with narrower nibs; fine and extra fine nibs seem to produce very nice results."

 

I will be the first to stand up and say that this is not an ink for everyone. I believe it is a jewel of an ink when used in moderation and, really, well worth the cost to me to make it. But that is the case only when the ink is used in the way that it was designed to be used. This is, undeniably, a specialty ink and it is not for everyone. There will be a few, such as I, who will love it. Others will continue to use the inks that have greater general acceptance and popularity.

 

And that is as it should be.

 

Again thank you both, and others here at this site, for your very fine reviews. It is a genuine pleasure to read all of them.

 

Lord Croft

Edited by LordCroft
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Interesting. I found it very well behaved on Rhodia. Any feathering you see in my Rhodia sample is a scanning/screen artifact. The original doesn't show any at all. I think I could see it happening in a fairly wet pen, though. My TWSBI runs on the dry side, and my Pelikano Jr. is somewhere in the middle, and on closer inspection of my original, I'd say the Pelikano is probably close to the limit of not getting bleedthrough, though there's still no feathering.

 

There's obviously a bit of feathering and some bleedthrough with the paper I used for the bulk of the review, but then again, it's Mead 5 Star. I've only used 1 or 2 inks that don't feather noticeably on that.

 

Yes, I did look it over again and there was one scan in particular that was pretty feathery, the rest were fine.

 

Keep in mind, I mentioned my pen and paper combination so that the readers would understand what's going on in each combination. Everyone has different pens/inks and even if those are the same, every pen is different. The more data we have, the better picture we will have.

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Thank you, Steveo and TWRDO, for your reviews (and personal kindness).

 

This all started as a project to accommodate only myself and my strict requirements and writing style. while developing the ink, I used my own pens, utilizing fine and extra fine nibs. I did not experiment with medium and broad nibs - I do not own any - and I was not concerned about the outcome in a situation with that much ink flowing. As a result, I achieved a very good balance of varying characteristics, but only for thin lines. I noticed later, when doing evaluations with broader points, that the standard broad was much too wet for my tastes and that the ink behaved very differently than what I was accustomed to (feathering and bleedthrough). Even the medium point was a bit of a surprise for me. I made a note on my website when I put this all out for public consumption:

 

"Notice that as more ink was applied, as with the broad flex nib, the ink displayed generally less desirable results (depending upon, of course, what your individual desires are), with noticeable bleed-through, smearing, and feathering. As a result, Blue Madonna seems to perform best with narrower nibs; fine and extra fine nibs seem to produce very nice results."

 

I will be the first to stand up and say that this is not an ink for everyone. I believe it is a jewel of an ink when used in moderation and, really, well worth the cost to me to make it. But that is the case only when the ink is used in the way that it was designed to be used. This is, undeniably, a specialty ink and it is not for everyone. There will be a few, such as I, who will love it. Others will continue to use the inks that have greater general acceptance and popularity.

 

And that is as it should be.

 

Again thank you both, and others here at this site, for your very fine reviews. It is a genuine pleasure to read all of them.

 

Lord Croft

 

 

I for one am glad that we have you and your unique ink in our family!

Edited by stevo
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I, too, just received this ink and found it to be quite lovely.

 

First, Lord Croft was a fast communicator and the ink was mailed the same day I purchased it. The full size bottle looks just like it does on the website. I agree that in fine pens the ink does not bleed through the paper, but in broad ones it does. I like to use an XF-B flexible vintage nib and found that unless I am writing on heavy paper, the broad strokes bleeds through too much.

 

That being said, I still like the ink and will continue to use it in my fine nibbed pens. I do wish the cost were lower but, as the reviewer already mentioned, it isn't a large amount when taken in small chunks.

 

Cheers,

Dagnypup

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